Jose Mourinho has broken his silence on the Gianluca Prestianni-Vinicius Junior racism row, telling Il Corriere dello Sport he was “massacred by public opinion, mainly by so many opportunists, in a situation that was absolutely uncontrollable”.
The Benfica boss made the remarks in an interview published on 8 October, nearly eight months after the Champions League play-off first leg at the Estadio da Luz that put him at the centre of a continent-wide debate on racism in football.
Mourinho’s point hinged on UEFA’s eventual ruling. Prestianni was sanctioned for discriminatory conduct, not racism, when the governing body closed its investigation.
“It was difficult for us because, in the end, Prestianni was not disqualified for racism,” Mourinho said.
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“One player was saying the accusations weren’t true. Nobody has proof. So you cannot take a position.”
What happened at the Estadio da Luz
Real Madrid won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon on 17 February, but the scoreline was quickly overshadowed. Shortly after Vinicius scored and was booked for his celebration, Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt and said something to the Real Madrid winger that prompted Vinicius to report racist abuse.
Referee Francois Letexier halted the match for roughly 10 minutes and activated the anti-discrimination protocol as Real Madrid’s players left the pitch.
Mourinho’s initial public response, questioning whether Vinicius provokes crowds and saying he wanted “to be independent”, drew heavy criticism in Spain and beyond at the time.
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Six games, then a global ban
UEFA opened an investigation and, after a provisional one-match suspension kept the 20-year-old Argentine winger out of the Bernabeu return leg, handed Prestianni a six-match European ban. Three of those matches were suspended on a two-year probation.
The decision explicitly stopped short of a racism finding, the detail Mourinho has now returned to as his justification.
Prestianni denied the racism allegation at the time, writing on Instagram that Vinicius had misunderstood what he thought he heard. Vinicius has consistently stood by his account.
‘A fantastic kid’ and ‘another golden one’
Mourinho was keen in the Corriere interview to distance his criticism from the two players themselves.
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He described Prestianni as “a fantastic kid” and Vinicius as “another golden one”, praising both footballers and reserving his anger for those he feels used the incident for other agendas.
The Portuguese coach, who took charge at Benfica on 18 September 2025 three weeks after leaving Fenerbahce, remains in his post this season after the Portuguese club finished third in the Primeira Liga last term.
Prestianni returns to European action for Benfica once his probationary conditions allow, with the player and club having accepted the sanction without further appeal.
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